X marks the spot

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND
Directed by Brett Ratner
Certificate 12A

THE X-MEN comics had legs. The simple premise of human DNA mutating to produce a race of people with super-powers gives writers a never-ending pool of scenarios.
So it is hardly surprising Hollywood has managed to glean three acceptable features from the pages of this popular series.
But the studio treatment of an imaginative comic series has suffered from an attempt to bring the Marvel touch to life. This means the trilogy suffers in parts. The special effects – an important aspect of the film – don’t always look as impressive as they should. This failing comes from the fact it is inspired by a comic book where the artists’ imagination has a wider scope.
But the X-Men films do have some saving graces, namely Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart as the two main protagonists Dr Xavier and Magneto, and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
The X-Men are mutants which evolution has blessed with special abilities: but these powers are a curse as well.
‘Normal’ humans want them licensed and strictly watched, while there is a schism in the mutant community: those who call for peaceful co-existence and another group who believe they are the future.
And in this latest edition of the series, the mutants are faced with a stark choice.
A ‘cure’ is discovered. It means they can take a pill and give up their special powers, despite the fact it makes them outcasts, and become ‘normal’ humans – or keep their extraordinary gifts, remain at the edge of society and continue to be at war with themselves and the human race.
Although the film centres particularly on the final stages of the battle between Xavier and Magneto, there is room for a softer story-line involving the tortured emotions of Wolverine and his relationship with Jean Grey, the telepathic doctor who he has had a thing for him since the first film.
And with some cliff hanger moments as the trilogy comes to an end, the final part has managed to walk a thin line between too much action and not enough pauses for thought – something the comic version was able to do.